


Necessary Asymmetry

by stifledlaughter



Series: "I am in the only place that I want to be" [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Break Up Talk, Designation: Miracle - Freeform, F/M, Female Friendship, Flashbacks, Gen, Girl's Day Out, Humor, Introspection, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 22:43:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21345982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stifledlaughter/pseuds/stifledlaughter
Summary: When Momoi brings up the subject of seeing other people to Aomine, he books it in a panic, leaving her with unanswered questions and heartache. When the rest of her Generation can't help, her new human girl friends step in, and while they all wait for him to return, she can start to picture of a life undesigned - whether or not it's with him.---A work based on umisabaku's "Designation: Miracle" universe.
Relationships: Aomine Daiki/Momoi Satsuki, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: "I am in the only place that I want to be" [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068698
Comments: 7
Kudos: 49





	Necessary Asymmetry

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Don't Blink You'll Miss It (Lift Up Your Head)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5556464) by [umisabaku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/umisabaku/pseuds/umisabaku). 

> Hey! So off the bat, if you haven't read @umisabaku's wonderful "Designation: Miracle" fic (at least the first one) you will be utterly bewildered by this since it heavily, heavily relies on knowledge of that fic.  
I put the AoMomo tag because it does discuss them as a couple as well as them being together in the flashbacks, but they are not really "together" in the present timeline of the fic, so I am unsure of how to tag it. This is just very Momoi-centric, and focusing on her interactions with her new female friends.

"I think... we should see other people."

The words tumbled out of her lips and she wished she had the power to snatch them back. 

It was supposed to be more... elegant than that.

He froze. "What?"

She could pretend she didn't say anything, but he wasn't stupid. (Despite all the times she called him stupid, she never meant it. He was smart. She wished she told him that more.) He had definitely heard her. 

"I... I started thinking. About Teiko. And how if, we were told we were a mated pair, and if that means we were made to never love anyone else." She couldn't look at his face, and so she stared at his shoes instead. "I... want to know if I can. If _we_ can. Before we commit to anything."

"What the... Satsuki... I... fuck. I can't, can't, can't do that. I don't...." Aomine started slowly backing up, and Satsuki almost took that as a good sign, that he wasn't running away but just taking some space, but then, a familiar blue glow shimmered into view. She looked up, tears already brimming in her eyes, to see his face, for a split second, broken and sad, before he vanished.

The wind from his speed caught her and she stumbled, falling to the ground. She managed to save herself on her palms but when she looked up, she could not see a trace of him anymore. 

\----

"Okay, from the top, please," said Youji, gripping his mug of now-cold coffee, whose ripples which only partially gave away his shaking hands. 

"I just said to him I wanted to see other people - because, it's important to me, I just have been thinking - _why did he run away!"_ and Satsuki cried again into the mountain of tissues already building up on his desk. 

Youji cursed the late night reports that had kept him here so that almost no one else was awake on base when Satsuki came in, looking for Michiru while sobbing profusely. He loved the girl like a daughter, as he did all of the Miracles, but he also had no idea how to deal with this. Michiru, unfortunately, was away on business in China on a last-minute mission and wouldn't be back until the weekend, so Satsuki saw the closest parental figure and unleashed her heartbreak. He had already texted Michiru the second that he saw Satsuki crying and asking for her, but he knew that some missions were required to be phoneless for security reasons and this was likely one of them. He would have confirmed that if any of Michiru's superiors were awake but this was not the case.

"I see, that really must have hurt a lot," said Youji sympathetically, frantically texting Kise under his desk that they probably have something of a Miracle emergency on their hands. He added Yukio to the text too, because Kise sometimes was too busy staring at his boyfriend's face to notice texts on his phone. 

Satsuki grabbed another tissue and blew her nose into it. "He didn't even give me a chance to explain! And I don't know when he's coming back." She then froze. "Or_ if_. What if... what if he never comes back? What if I ruined everything?" And she burst into tears again. 

Youji reached out and hesitantly patted her hand in what he hoped was a comforting way. "There there," he said, as his other hand quickly texted Nobuko and Takao as well, hoping one of them was up to alert the nurse that she was needed. 

"It's like... I see all of the other Miracles fall in love. What's that even like? To not know you're going to love someone, and then, it happens? What's it like to not know what someone's potential is for you? Who they could be to you?" Her red eyes looked so despairing and sad that Youji's own heart ached for the girl. _She's only sixteen_, he thought sadly, knowing everything she and the other Miracles had been through. But none of them had been through true romantic heartbreak, and unfortunately, he knew that Satsuki, like all of humanity, was going to have to learn the hard way there are no real answers for her questions. 

She cried again, and Youji dug around in his desk drawers for something to distract her with. "Ah... here's a protein bar. Sorry I don't have anything better, I usually go to the mess..." 

She took it and started to unwrap it, but then stared at the protein bar's plastic wrapping and then started to cry again. 

"What? What is it?" asked Youji, now desperately confused.

"It's... _blue!" _she said weakly, and sobbed. 

This was going to be a very long night. 

\--------------

"I'm not going to lie, I'm really glad I'm not the first guardian to deal with a Miracle breakup," said Ryohei as he headed toward's Youji's office with Masaomi. 

"Michiru isn't even here to deal with it, apparently Youji's been up since 11pm with her." Masaomi spotted Sayuri entering the hallway, armed with a holder of multiple coffee cups. "Oh thank god, someone had foresight."

"These are almost entirely for Youji, not you," said Sayuri. "It's 8am now and he's been awake for nine hours with a heartbroken teenage girl. He needs this more now than literally anyone else in the entire world."

"You brought your son, didn't you?" asked Ryohei to Masaomi. "I didn't see him come in with you from Kyoto with the helicopter, though." 

"He was already here for something basketball related with his team. I assume he'll wake up, get the texts and join us shortly." Masaomi took out his phone. "Oh, we'd better hurry up. Youji's just texting screaming emoticons now."

They made their way quickly to Youji's office, where they found him holding her phone and stuffing his laptop in his desk drawer as she reached out for them, glowing pink.

"I just need to see if he's texted anyone else-"

"No, Satsuki, that's not healthy, just because you _can_ hack his texts doesn't mean you _should_-"

"Youji, I've got this now," announced Sayuri as she came in, and Youji nearly sobbed in relief as he stumbled up from his desk to hug her and grab one of the coffees, tipping it back and swallowing it entirely in one go. "Oh god. Oh fuck," he whispered as he grabbed another one. 

Sayuri set down the remaining coffees and handed one to Satsuki. "I have no idea what effect caffeine has on your system but put something in your stomach besides whatever garbage sawdust protein bars Youji probably gave you."

"Hey!" said Youji, awake enough to be offended. 

"They are garbage," Masaomi offered helpfully. 

"Caffeine may not be the ideal thing for Satsuki's emotional state right now-" started Ryohei but Satsuki burst into tears again as she held the coffee in her hands. 

"I want my mom," she said, holding the coffee cup, and Youji's heart broke anew for her, because she'd said that a few times already but it still hurt to hear.

"We can't reach her right now, she's on a mission," said Youji, repeating what he had said earlier. "I'm really sorry. We can't contact her for another day at least, or until she contacts us first." 

She sobbed a little bit and Sayuri took her by the hands and pulled her up. "Okay, let's get you out of this office. It's a real soul suck in here."

"What the hell do you have against my office-"

"Youji, you probably need to sleep right now," said Masaomi. "At least get a nap in before the other kids show up. You're gonna want to be awake for that."

Ryohei's phone beeped, and he took it out. "Nobuko's on her way now with Midorima-kun."

Youji stumbled and nearly hit a wall, blinking as he tried to steady the coffee cup in one hand and read his phone with the other. "My kids are heading in too. At least, I think they're my kids. I have... two? No. Four." 

Masaomi took the coffee cup from Youji and put it on the desk as Sayuri ushered Satsuki out the door. "Yeah, we're going to head to the bunks now."

As Sayuri took Satsuki in the direction of her office, Youji looked up at Masaomi. "Masa-chan, these kids don't get heartbreak yet. They have no idea what's coming. How much it sucks."

Masaomi looked down at Youji's tired face and his expressive brown eyes. Youji slumped a little more, and Masaomi scooped him up, bridal style, to carry him the rest of the way. Youji, too exhausted to protest, just lolled his head against Masaomi's chest. He was already dozing off when Masaomi spoke again. 

"Yeah. It sucks."

\-------

"Has anyone heard from Aomine since last night?" asked Akashi as everyone was settled into the room. Thankfully, due to the championships of the B-League team happening in Tokyo, both Murasakibara and Akashi were in town to watch the games with their teams. Within two hours of everyone waking up to frantic texts on every group and personal chat on their phones at various hours throughout the morning, they had convened back on the JSDF base. But there was a conspicuous lack of texts from one of their own.

"The last thing I have from him was from after dinner last night when we were making plans to meet up for this morning before one of the matches," said Kise, scrolling through his phone, brows furrowed. 

"Kagami-kun received 'get fucked' at around 9pm last night in response to Kagami-kun informing Aomine-kun that his assumptions of how the B-league matches would go were false," said Kuroko, also scrolling through his phone. 

"It looks like Momoicchi last talked to Aominicchi around 11pm, so does anyone have anything after that?" said Kise, looking up from his texts. 

"No, not to my knowledge," said Midorima. "I also have been checking the news and have not seen any descriptions of wanton destruction in Japan as of last night, so, I have no idea where he could be located, if he indeed left in a rage."

"Are we going to talk about what Momoicchi said to Aominicchi, or..." Kise looked around the room, and Mursakibara glanced at the door where Midorima's father paced back and forth outside. Ryohei had told them the basics when they had came in but he admitted himself he wasn't entirely sure what had happened. 

Akashi held up his hand as he also looked at his phone. "No, that's not up for discussion at the moment. Our primary goal is to find Aomine, or at least, hear from him at all. It is not for us to discuss whatever is happening between the two of them and their relationship."

Kuroko looked down at his texts, several coming in from Kagami.

_Kagami-kun: so we've looked around Touou, on the roof and in the courts around the school, and can't find him _

_Himuro's been at the stadium where today's matches are and can't find him there either_

_Ryou can't find him anywhere in their neighborhood, and Shouichi said Aomine didn't come home last night, but since that happens so often, he didn't consider it weird so they weren't worried_

_Kuroko: Thank you, Kagami-kun. We also do not have any more information._

_Kagami-kun: what exactly did Satsuki say to him? would she actually break up with him?_

_Kuroko: I am unsure. We are not used to this sort of strife between the two of them. It's frequent they are in small conflicts but he has never left her side for more than a day without forewarning or letting her know where he would be. _

_Kagami-kun: good luck dealing with the first breakup ever in the history of the Miracles_

Kuroko looked up from his texts to see his Generation either texting on their phones or looking helplessly at each other. The mood of the room was tense and sad, and it was painfully obvious there was really nothing they could do to help their sister and brother. 

_Kuroko: Thank you, Kagami-kun. I do believe we will need it. _

_\------_

"You know how he is," said Sayuri, handing another tissue to Momoi. "He'll pout for a day or two, pull his head out of his ass, and come back."

Satsuki sniffed and buried her face into the tissue. "This... this was different. He wasn't angry this time. He was sad. I've never seen him look that broken before."

"It was his fault for running off before you could explain what you meant," said Sayuri, dutifully pulling out another tissue and handing it over as Satsuki tossed her current one away. 

"I'm supposed to be the level-headed one, and he's supposed to pull me out of my comfort zone," said Satsuki, looking down. 

"I'm not gonna lie, this 'mated pair' shit has always seemed off to me, and if it stuck you in a role you didn't want to be in, then fuck that," said Sayuri firmly. In the back of her mind, she knew that she probably should be playing 'comforting sister figure' right now instead of 'blunt like a sledgehammer asshole' but like all of the Miracle guardians, she had a laundry list of things she hated Teiko for, and this one personally was grinding on her nerves right now. "You're not his mother, or his wife, you're not supposed to 'fix' him. Teiko broke him, and he needs to fix himself, like the rest of you have done." 

Satsuki fell quiet at that, and said nothing upon hearing a gentle knock on the door. "Sayuri-san? All of the other Miracles are here. They'd like to see Momoi-chan." Ryohei poked his head in. "But there's no rush, take your time."

Satsuki rose out of her chair, but Sayuri stopped her from going out of the door. "Hey, kid. Listen. Whatever you end up doing, know that this all started because you'd been thinking about it for a while, and nothing should stop you from exploring this new world you've been handed. When you all busted out of that hellhole, you got a second chance at life. Not everyone who went through that place did."

"I know," said Satsuki, her voice thin and sad. "I miss him but... I... I..."

"Hey. Hey. You don't have to analyze this right now. You've got your family here, and you're okay. Remember that, alright?" Sayuri waited until Satsuki nodded, and then they left the room. 

Sayuri had her suspicions of where he was. But she wouldn't voice them quite yet. 

\----

Miracle Human Boyfriends Club Group Chat

_Kagami: hey guys, i'm pretty sure we're not gonna find him. it's been three hours of looking. _

_Himuro: yeah that guy can run off to wherever he wants to, he could literally be in Prague or something right now for all we know._

_Takao: alright guys, think, if you were a heartbroken superpowered teenager full of rage, where would you go?  
_

_Furihata: That's a terrifying thought. _

_Kageyama: I'm so glad I'm not involved in all of this. Kuroko-kun told us to stay in Miyagi just in case for some reason Aomine-kun ended up in this prefecture and we needed someone on the ground here. _

_Kasamatsu: I'm still at the JSDF with my dad, he got a nap in and Sayuri-san is handling things right now. We aren't going to be able to get ahold of Momoi-chan's guardian for a while. Akashi-san, Kishitani-sensei, and Nobuko-san are here as well. _

_Kagami: did you see her at all?_

_Kasamatsu: No, once Kise found the rest of the Miracles I went to find my dad. He said that he had to keep stopping Momoi-chan from hacking into Aomine's phone to read his texts and track him. _

_Takao: I might sound like an asshole here but if we have the ability to track his phone, why don't we rather than running all over Tokyo at 9am?_

_Furihata: I mean, if he doesn't want to be tracked, shouldn't she respect that? _

_Himuro: i think i can safely say that if you're suggesting any of the miracles respect boundaries, i don't think you've been in this club long enough. _

_Furihata: Oh. Akashi-kun just texted me that he tracked Aomine's phone and it was left in his bedroom at his home, with the last activity on it sometime around midnight. _

_Takao: We'll put the can of worms aside regarding the fact that that Akashi tracked down Aomine's phone without having hacking superpowers_ _and at least know for now that our searching wasn't entirely in vain since he didn't have his phone on him anyway. _

_Kasamatsu: Okay they're handing her over to the Miracles now. Sayuri's going to catch us up on what they talked about. _

_Himuro; I honestly do not think those guys are the best people to help her out right now. They are super bad at emotions. _

_Takao: You got any better ideas?_

_Kagami: i think i do._

_Takao: Seriously?_

_Himuro: you have an idea?_

_Furihata: Really? _

_Kasamatsu; It has to be a good idea, not just any idea. _

_Kagami: fuck you guys _

_\---_

When Satsuki entered the meeting room that the Miracles had taken over, she immediately burst into tears anew and ran over to hug Kuroko, who tried his best to be comforting._  
_

"He hasn't spoken to any of you?" asked Momoi, brushing tears out of her eyes as Kuroko continued to pat her back. 

"He hasn't, Momoicchi," said Kise apologetically, braiding her hair as it was getting tangled in her hands and snotty face. "But he's tough. He's probably just running off his feelings." 

"He's so... stupid," she said angrily, but there was little power behind her voice. It was defeated and sad. 

"There's nothing further you can do but wait," said Akashi. "He will return to you. He will return to _us_. He always has." 

"He didn't even want to escape with us," said Momoi, hiccuping out a sob. "He would have rather died there."

Everyone else in the room flinched either physically or internally at that. 

"That may have been true at first," said Akashi slowly, "But I do think he prefers this world, now, to Teiko." 

Midorima nodded. "He's found something at Touou, and with basketball, something to compete and excel at. He is not Blue anymore, even if it felt like he took the longest out of all of us to lose that side of himself." 

Murasakibara hadn't contributed much to this conversation and had only been helping by handing over some of his snacks to Momoi, which, for him, was a very grand gesture. She crunched away on the potato chips while hiccuping out sobs, so Murasakibara kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't choke. 

"Would you like to stay with one of us while your mother is out?" asked Kuroko. "Kagami-kun would not mind. Our couch folds out into a bed." 

Akashi raised an eye at that. "Or she could stay in one of the many bedrooms available at the Akashi Tokyo residence."

Kuroko did not show it but Akashi knew him well enough to know that only years or training stopped him from letting out the enormous sigh Akashi knew Kuroko wanted to release. "Or yes, that option." 

Satsuki shook her head. "I'll stay here and wait for her to come back. She has a cot in her office I'll use." 

Akashi frowned at that and mentally made a note to get a bed in there for her. The others turned to each other and started to talk among themselves about the possibly whereabouts of Aomine.

Patting her back again, Kuroko nodded. "I will stay here as well, so that you are not alone. If you wish."

She looked up at him and smiled, for the first time since they had seen her, and said, "It would have been easier, you know," referring to their conversation, long ago, that she wished they could have loved each other instead. 

He nodded and gave her the ghost of a smile. "I know. But you love him." 

The smile vanished from her face and she looked down at her hands again. She still did not have her phone as Youji kept it with him as he went away to his nap. She felt untethered, floating. "I really messed this up, didn't I?"

Kuroko was unsure of what to say to that. "I do not know, Momoi-chan. But Akashi-kun is right. He has always returned before. If we are to look at the past for a pattern, then he will surely return this time." 

Kuroko's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. "Ah. Interesting. Kagami-kun has let me know he has arranged for people perhaps better suited for comforting Momoi-chan to meet with her."

Kise tilted his head. "He came up with a plan?"

"Really?" asked Midorima. 

"It really needs to be a good plan and not just any plan," said Akashi. 

"Mmm," said Murasakibara, handing over some chocolate to Momoi. 

"Kagami-kun has excellent ideas," said Kuroko to defend his boyfriend. 

"Well let's hear it first before we agree to anything," said Kise. 

"Kagami-kun suggested that friends who are also women and Momoi-chan's age might be better at comforting her, and that he has texted Coach to gather her female friends together to support her during this time, as they have had personal experience with heartbreak."

"That... doesn't actually suck as a plan," mused Kise. 

"Indeed, that, against all odds, does make sense," said Midorima. Kuroko glowered at him but did not say anything. 

"Who are the friends?" asked Midorima.

"Aya-chan and Reo-chan," said Kuroko. 

"You possibly met them the day that we went to MM Land," added Akashi. "Reo-san is on my team at Rakuzan, and Aya-san is dating a member of Serin's team."

"You mean the day that you used all of our boyfriends to distract the Seirin team and woo your lover into dating you?" said Kise.

"Yes, that day," replied Akashi, not bothering to look at Kise and instead texting rapidly.

_Akashi: Reo-san, please inform me if you are planning on indeed being supportive of Momoi-san during this time along with Aya-san and Riko-san._

_Reo: OF COURSE ~~~~~ girls MUST help other girls, if Aomine-kun was being a dick we can cheer her right up no problem <3 <3 <3_

_Akashi: You will provide me updates as to her well-being and activities, and ensure she does not do anything damaging or harmful to her physical or mental health?_

_Reo: it'll be FINE, calm down, we've got this, don't get your panties in a twist. _

Akashi chose not to respond to that. 

\---------------

"So if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but if you _want_ to talk about it, we can do that too!" said Reo, holding Momoi's hands as they all sat on a park bench outside of an outdoor shopping area. "Do you want us to call him names? We can throw darts at a picture of him. Burn any stuff you have of his. I know where we can find a fire pit."

Aya shook her head. "No, no, you're going about this all wrong. The first day you sit and wallow and scream. Watch romantic movies on repeat and hurl things at the screen."

Riko frowned. "None of those sound particularly reasonable. We should talk it out and then proceed with the best course of action based on Satsuki-chan's needs." 

Satsuki was grateful to have them all there, even if they didn't agree on how to work through this. While she only incidentally knew Reo and Aya, she was glad to be progressing in her friendship with Riko after an initial rocky start, and already she was feeling better than she had been back with her fellow Miracles. 

"I just feel like... I want to do something crazy," she admitted. "I just have to _do_ something, something big, something that'll change me, something I can control because right now I can't control anything."

The three other girls looked up at each other, and then nodded, saying together at the same time, "Haircut."

Momoi blinked up at them. "What?"

"It's a time-honored tradition, welcome to being a heartbroken human. You cut off your hair in a defiant act to feel like you have some control over your life," said Aya. "Sometimes you dye it too but your hair already is pink so... you're fine with just the cut."

Momoi took her hastily braided hair in her hands, still together from when Kise had fixed it. "Oh. I've never considered that. I've always had my hair this length."

"Well, it'll grow back if you don't like it!" said Aya cheerfully.

"If you're really worried, we can keep the hair that gets cut and save it to make extensions from it," said Riko thoughtfully. "I'm sure we can figure that out in case you hate it."

"Let's go to my hairdresser! She's the best," said Reo, already pulling out her phone to make an appointment. 

Momoi looked at her long pink braid. She rarely ever even had it in a braid, just when she was too busy to deal with maintaining it. She took a lot of pride in looking feminine - being one of many boys, she wanted to stand out. Michiru had been excellent for that, and Momoi knew she still had much to learn from her mother when it came to using femininity to her advantage. 

"Can we look at some ideas?" she asked. "Can I have my phone back?" 

"Afraid not, I have strict orders from Sei-chan to not give you your phone. I'm afraid you'll use it to hack into Aomine's phone and read his texts," said Reo. "Use mine instead." 

Momoi chose not to mention that it really didn't matter what phone she used, she could hack into anything anywhere. But she still appreciated Reo's sentiment. 

"Ooooh, maybe you can get a cyber-punk look, since you're a hacker and all," mused Aya. 

"It is fairly 'in' to have asymmetrical haircuts," agreed Riko. 

Momoi researched the aforementioned hairstyle on Reo's phone, and thought how... _angled_ they looked. She always thought of her image as rather soft, so people would underestimate her. 

But maybe she could use some outward appearance of strength now. Some angles would go a long way to making her feel slightly more armored. 

\----

_"It's so pretty, Pink," said White, stroking Pink's hair. "I wish my hair were long, too."_

_"But yours is so curly! Mine is just... boring and straight," said Pink, bouncing White's curls in her hands. They stopped at her chin but were set in amazing ringlets. _

_White giggled and let go of Pink's hair. "Purple has long hair too. I wonder if he could ever get it into a ponytail. Wouldn't that be cute?"_

_They spoke in hushed whispers in their bunks. It was quiet and dark in the barracks, and the rest of their Generation was fast asleep. _

_Pink felt such joy during these times. During the day, she couldn't smile or laugh without being punished for showing emotion. But with White, she could just be, here, in the darkness, under the covers. _

_"One day my hair will grow out long," said White. "And then we can match."_

_Pink looked forward to it._

_\----_

"Oh my god _Momoi _that looks so good!" squealed Aya, clapping her hands. "You could _totally_ be a hacker in a spy movie, no question." 

Momoi couldn't find the words - she hesitantly raised her hand to the left side of her head, which had been trimmed partially. The untrimmed part had been shortened to be angled and choppy, barely reaching the back of her neck. Her hand then traveled to the right side of her head, where the hair had been cut to angle down at elbow-length level. She felt... unlike she ever had before.

It was good, this feeling of newness. She wasn't the same person all the time, but shifting, and this asymmetrical feature of herself was oddly grounding. 

"I've got your hair here just in case you want to make extensions out of it," said the hairdresser, who had gotten over her initial fangirling at the idea of giving a haircut to a Miracle and settled down to business quickly and efficiently. "Just say the word." She held the bag out pink clippings out to Momoi.

"I... actually... I think I'm good," said Momoi, still in awe. "This is great, thank you so much." It felt unreal, and her head felt lighter. None of the other Miracles had seen her like this before. She was, for a brief moment, unrecognizable to herself even. 

"Can I take a picture for my Instagram?" asked the hairdresser. 

"Uh- sure!" said Momoi, and she did a quick pose, smiling broadly. 

"Hashtag, #firstmiraclebreakdownhaircut?" joked Aya. 

Reo snorted. "You clearly didn't see Sei-chan's bangs right before the Winter Cup. Fixing that was a nightmare." 

Momoi giggled as she paid. She liked the way her hair fell across her face as she leaned forward, and how asymmetry felt on her head. She felt unbalanced but it was okay. It made her more aware of what was missing, and how she needed to compensate for that. Her fingers skimmed the closely-cropped undercut, and she relished the unusual feeling. 

"Momoi you look so cool," gushed Reo as they headed outside after the hairdresser thanked them profusely. (Momoi made a mental note to bump up the hairdresser's Instagram rankings in the algorithm as a subtle thank you for doing a good job.) "You are _definitely_ winning this breakup."

"There's a way to win?" asked Momoi, frowning. 

"It's probably an unhealthy way to look at it, but a lot of people do see break-ups that way," said Riko. "Like, who is doing better after the breakup, who finds someone else more quickly... actually, yeah, it's terribly unhealthy."

"Well no one ever said I was here to dispense _good_ breakup advice," pointed out Reo. 

"Yeah, _really_ bad advice would be like, us going to a bar to see how many guys Satsuki-chan could pick up in an hour," said Aya slyly.

"We are _not_ going to do that," said Riko before Momoi could react. "That's off the post-breakup list, forever, let's not even go there."

"So what's next on the list,then?" said Momoi. She felt energized and almost open to anything now. 

"Hm... well, there's always piercings," said Reo. 

"Oh right. Kise has one in his ear," mused Momoi. "That'd be cool... where else could I get piercings?"

Aya coughed and Reo started to laugh, but Riko swatted them both. "_No."_

Momoi looked back and forth between them. "What? What?"

"That'd be a hell of a surprise," cackled Aya. "Oh my god, can you imagine-"

"_No_," Riko said emphatically, looking both panicked and murderous.

"As amazing as that would be, I told Sei-chan I'd keep Satsuki-chan from doing any damage to herself and I'm pretty sure they'd all count that as some sort of damage," said Reo. 

"Will someone tell me-" started Momoi, so Reo leaned over and whispered to her. 

"Oh... oh _wow- _that's _possible?_" She tried to picture it, and then burst out laughing, "Oh that would be such a surprise-"

"_No!"_ yelled Riko. "_No no no no-_"

Aya, Reo, and Momoi were lost to laughter now, and Momoi felt joy bursting from her chest, overwhelming her. She laughed out loud in the daylight with her friends, and was not afraid. 

\----

"So, in comparison, a belly-button piercing isn't really all that bad," reasoned Reo with Riko, who had given up really fighting when Momoi had promised not to get **that** piercing. 

"I suppose," said Riko. "Have you picked one out yet?"

Momoi squinted at the piercings behind the counter. "Hm.... I like this one." It was a simply silver piece, cheerful and sparkly with little star gems. It felt bright, and she wanted to take the brightness into herself, pierce it through her skin. She had to not think about radiant brilliance, about shooting stars in the night that flashed by her. 

It was time to find her own brightness. "Yes, that one."

The shop assistant picked it out and led them all to a room in the back, where the piercing artist was cleaning her tools. "Lay down on the chair and we'll get started. It'll be painful for a second but your friends can stay with you if that helps."

\--

_"What if I'm a Failure this time?" worried Pink, kicking her legs over the edge of the chair. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she quickly tried to wipe them away. Pink Twos did not cry. Pink Twos did not succumb to emotion. But sometimes it overwhelmed her and just poured out before she could stuff it back in._

_"That's dumb. You could never be a Failure. Everything you do is perfect," responded Blue. "Maybe they're the Failures for not seeing it."_

_"I hate this," she said, curling her legs under her now. Maybe, if she became very small, they would not see her on the table, not take her measurements and assess her powers and mark down on that chart whether or not she should continue living. "Every year we have to do this, and I'm so scared."_

_Blue took her hand and squeezed it. "If they even think of calling you a Failure, I'll kill them." His eyes were wide and sincere, despite his harsh words. _

_She knew he'd do it too. _

_Pink burrowed her head into Blue's chest and let herself weep in the darkness of his warmth, until the door clicked open and they sprang apart, and the assessment began. _

_\----_

"And- we're done!" said the piercing artist, and Momoi exhaled, releasing her grip from Reo's and Riko's hands. She looked down and blinked in awe of the tiny, shimmery charm now attached to her. She felt elated, and in the end, it wasn't even that painful. 

But she didn't mind holding Reo's and Riko's hands during it, because it meant someone was there with her. 

They left the shop and headed towards a park. Even though her top covered it, Momoi felt the sway of the belly button ring and marveled at the feeling. Her enhanced hearing caught the gentle chiming as the pieces hit each other, and she found she quite liked it. 

"You know what, guys? I'm feeling bubble tea," said Aya, tilting her head towards a shop. 

"Oooh that one has the popping bubbles," said Reo eagerly. "And the cups have little cat ears on them." 

There was excited agreement all around, and they headed in, observing the menus. 

Satsuki always marveled at the array of flavors and choices available. She tried to pick new things off the menu every time she went somewhere, and was still on her quest with this particular bubble tea chain even. 

"I can never get Junpei and Teppei to go with me to those places. They always want to go to Maji Burger," said Riko, sighing. 

"Speaking of which," said Aya, grinning. "How's it going having _two_ boyfriends?"

Riko flushed and said, "It's... really great, I guess? I don't know. It just sort of works out, as long as we talk about everything a lot." 

"Awww," sighed Aya. "That's adorable. I always thought Hyuuga was cute in a sort of tsundere way. But Teppei just puts all his feelings out there and that's great too. So you get the best of both worlds." 

"What was it like?" asked Momoi. "Falling in love." 

There was the question that no one was going to ask hovering in the air after her statement - _aren't you in love right now? Wouldn't you know?_ But Momoi never fell in love. She had always simply been a part of the system that was the two of them, and never knew what it was like to be outside of it, or had memories of entering the stage of love. 

Riko looked thoughtful. "It was like... I noticed things more. Actions meant more to me, ones that surprised me. Like if Hyuuga helped me by staying late to work on strategy charts. Or if Teppei took over coaching the first years when I had to work with the upperclassmen before the Winter Cup. They did things to help and it just felt... more impactful as I started to realize how much more they meant to me."

"It also helps that they are super attractive," commented Aya, fishing out bubbles with her straw. 

"I'd definitely say that Teppei is the most attractive Uncrowned King male," noted Reo. "I, of course, sweep the women's category." 

Riko waved her hand. "Okay, yes, they're stunningly hot and I get to see them all sweaty and muscly all the time. It helps." 

"Not that I don't love Tsuchida but I'll give you this- I totally want to grate myself like cheese over Teppei's abs," commented Aya, and Riko choked on her drink.

"God, same," said Reo, and Aya burst out into laughter as Riko blushed furiously. 

"That's _my _cheese grater you're talking about!" 

After a minute, the laughing died down, and Momoi worked up the courage to ask another question. "Did you ever doubt yourself?" She tried to ignore how tumbled and squeezed her stomach felt. "Like... how you felt for them."

The mood at the table suddenly got much more serious - this was the closest they'd really gotten to talking about Aomine. 

"I felt very torn, to be honest," said Riko slowly. "I didn't really know dating both of them could be an option. So I opted for neither, and that hurt too. And I know now that Teppei and Hyuuga were all going through the same thing, so everyone was hurting and doubtful. I would ask myself, maybe I don't _really_ like Teppei that way, maybe I'm just projecting, or maybe Hyuuga is meant to be with Teppei and not me. But in the end, I just couldn't picture going forward without having that closeness with them. So when Teppei came back from America, and it all fell together after a lot of work, I was really happy."

Momoi nodded. "That sounds really nice."

"Do you want to talk about it, Satsuki-chan?" asked Reo kindly. "It's okay if you don't want to."

"I just... really worry that I don't even know what it's like to fall in love, so I am not sure if what I feel for him is romantic love or just, like, the same I feel for the rest of my Generation," she admitted. "Like siblings but- Dai-chan was always outside of that, because we knew we were a mated pair. So I can't even really tell that way."

"It's not always fun and games," said Aya. "Before Tsuchida and I dated, I fell for this guy that turned out to be a huge jerk. But he hid it really well in the beginning, so I fell hard, and then reality hit. And sometimes, I still get freaked out about things because of him, even though it was years ago."

"I won't even go into my romantic trials, but I agree, sometimes, it feels pretty hopeless," added Reo.

Momoi poked at the bubbles in her drink listlessly. "Yeah. I can see that. But I think it's something I should experience too. I just wish I could do that without hurting him."

Aya shrugged. "Lots of times, when you involve feelings, someone gets hurt. And sometimes there's really nothing you can do to make everyone happy."

"But you don't have to figure this all out now," said Riko, reaching over and putting her hand on Momoi's. "You've got time."

"Yeah, it's girls' day," said Aya. "Let's focus distracting you. Everything else can happen later."

Momoi smiled, and the knots in her stomach lessened somewhat. "Yeah. You're right." She smiled. "Thank you all. It... really means a lot that you would come help me out."

"Of course we would," said Reo. "That's what your girls are for!" 

Momoi thought back to when she found the picture of her mother's friends for years ago, all of them dead. And how Michiru had encouraged her to find female friends, because it wasn't quite the same as having relationships with the men in her Generation. 

_You were right, Mom, _thought Momoi. _This is what I needed. _

\---

They headed back to the base after tea. Reo checked Momoi's phone for her, frowning . "No messages from your mom. She must still be away."

Momoi sighed but she knew her mother's job was important, and that Youji was clear that the second he heard anything, he'd let her know. But she still opened the door to her mother's office with hope, only to see an empty desk.

And... a bed?

"Your mom keeps a whole bed in her office? Damn, that's kind of smart," said Aya approvingly. 

"Not usually," said Momoi, reading a card that had been placed on the bed. "Oh... Akashi-kun sent this over. He must have not really liked the idea of me sleeping on the cot she keeps in here." She noted that the cot had been propped up against the wall with another note pinned to it: "_There are better cots for posture and health benefits, if she must keep a cot in here at all." _She snorted and removed the note. 

"By the way, the boys said they can leave the games and come back to see you if you want," said Reo, scrolling through her texts. "But that's up to you."

Momoi shook her head. "No, I think I need a nap." Even though she and the other Miracles didn't need sleep as much as regular humans did, it was more emotional exhaustion than anything calling her to sleep. 

"We'll stay with you," said Riko. "If you want."

"I can stay at the desk, watching the phones," added Reo. 

"I could use a nap," yawned Aya. "Riko, you too?" 

Riko shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Momoi smiled. "Yeah, that'd be nice if you guys stayed." She watched as Riko and Aya fussed with the bed, arranging pillows and covers to fit three people. 

She hadn't slept next to people in so long - Michiru wouldn't allow Aomine to sleep next to her even though the Imayoshi house was right next to hers. 

"It's not... right," Michiru had said. "I think you two need to be apart, and I don't know if I entirely trust Aomine to keep his hands to himself."

"He wouldn't do anything I wasn't okay with," Satsuki had said at the time. "Not that we're doing much anyway." 

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Michiru had insisted. "Learning how to be alone is important too."

\----------------

_"She can't go in there without me," said Blue confidently, holding Pink's hand._

_The man who had asked for Pink to come in for her medical examination frowned. "I'm not sure if that would be appropriate, Blue. Medical records are a very private thing. It's possible that Pink doesn't want anyone else to know those except me, the doctor."_

_Pink wasn't sure what to make of that. Their records had been shared with all of the scientists on base. Nothing she ever did was private, even her own thoughts in her head. With Golds in their minds and scientists in their bodies, there really was no concept of privacy. _

_The man who had first met them and introduced himself to Yellow (another bizarre occurrence, the first of many) was also there. His eyes darted back and forth between Blue and the doctor, and he seemed pensive. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Yellow tugged on his sleeve. "Kasamatsu-san, you should let Blue go with Pink. They always did their assessments together."_

_Kasamatsu looked at Yellow thoughtfully. "Is that so?"_

_Yellow nodded. "They're a pair. You can't separate them." _

_The two men looked at each other, and then the doctor sighed. "Yes. Blue, you can come in with Pink, and then we can do your examination after."_

_"Pink will stay with me then too," said Blue firmly, gripping her hand tightly. Pink looked down, afraid of what the examination would entail (even though Yellow and Black had both said that it was okay and they didn't even have a chart for Failure or Success ratings). But she felt Blue's hand get tighter, and looked over to see him resolutely staring down the doctor, and breathed out._

_She would be okay, as long as he was there. _

_\----_

Michiru reached the safe house of the JSDF in China and took a second to breathe. She'd barely gotten out with her limbs intact, and there was a moment where she thought she would have to take one for the team but - it was fine. It ended fine. 

It didn't always end fine for her line of work, and she thanked her lucky stars when it did. 

First she slumped onto the chair at the table and threw down her jacket and bag. After cramming some of the rations from the cabinets in her mouth, she sighed and let herself bask in the quiet. After a few minutes, she felt human again.

_Okay. Time to check back in._

She opened her phone and after sorting through the encryptions and protections (having a hacker-genius as a daughter came in handy sometimes), she realized she had an astounding number of messages.

"What on Earth," she gasped aloud, and then read the first dozen or so from Youji. "Oh, _fuck."_

Immediately she threw on her jacket and grab her small travel bag, shouldering it. She hadn't showered in days, barely eaten at all, and sleep was a laughable thought. 

But. 

No time to rest. She had to get back to her daughter. 

\---

Five and a half hours later, Michiru stormed into the JSDF base, heading straight for Youji's office. "Where is she?" 

Youji glanced up. "Oh, excellent, you're here - good _God_, you look like shit."

Michiru growled and stepped forward menacingly. Youji threw up his hands. "She's in your office, taking a nap with the girls. But she seems fine, actually-"

But Michiru was off, and Youji sighed and put his head down on his desk. "Nobody ever listens to me," he said to the sounds of Michiru's boots clomping down the corridor. 

When Michiru opened the door, she wasn't expecting to see her desk moved aside, and a full-sized bed flush against the wall. But the most surprising thing wasn't that, but rather, that curled up next to Satsuki were two other girls, and another one sitting in her desk chair, who looked up, immediately putting a finger to her lips. 

"Hi Sakurai-san - Momoi showed us some pictures of you so we'd know who you are when you came back. She's napping right now, she's had a very busy day, but she's feeling okay." The girl spoke in a whisper and glanced over to make sure no one had woken up.

"Who are you?" whispered Michiru back, thoroughly confused. She knew that Satsuki had mentioned Aida Riko as a possible friend, but was unaware of two others. She vaguely recalled Youji said "the girls" but once he said the word "office", she immediately ignored everything else. 

"We're her friends. I'm Mibuchi Reo, nice to meet you. I play basketball with Akashi Seijuurou." She waved, and then pointed to the girl on Satsuki's left. "That's Aya-san, she dating someone on the Seirin basketball team that Kuroko Tetsuya plays on. And then Aida Riko, Serin's coach."

Michiru walked over and examined her daughter, who was truly conked out on the bed. Her hair was different - punkish, shorter. She almost reached out to touch it, but restrained herself. Best to let her sleep. 

"Do you want me to call you when she wakes up?" asked Reo softly, and Michiru nodded. "Okay. I got your number from Sei-chan, so you don't have to worry. We've got her." 

She briefly considered asking how this girl got away with calling Akashi Seijuurou "Sei-chan", why there was a bed in her office, if they had any news on where Aomine was, if Momoi was handling it all alright or if she'd have to beat the shit out of some cocky superpowered teenager who broke her daughter's heart. 

But part of parenting was knowing when to let someone else handle things, and by the look of it, these girls had it under control. 

"Thanks," she said. "I'm gonna head out to the showers but I'll keep my phone nearby." With that, she dropped her duffel bag in the corner of her office, grabbed some of the spare clothes from her desk, and headed towards the showers. 

She passed Youji's office and stuck her head in. "She's doing okay."

Youji snorted. "I was trying to tell you that."

"Anything else pressing I need to know about this mess?"

"They haven't found Aomine-kun yet, but Seijuurou-kun is pretty confident that he'll return soon." Youji glanced up at her, something unreadable in his eyes. "She kept asking for you."

"I wasn't there when she needed me," said Michiru, frustrated with herself.

"We can't do everything," said Youji sincerely. "You want to fix everything for them but that's just not how it works. She did alright."

Michiru didn't respond - exhaustion was making her head swim, as she only snagged a few hours of sleep on the plane over. She mutely nodded and headed away, the weight from her shoulders lifted, if temporarily, at the thought of Satsuki expanding her network. It's what she wants her for daughter - the guardians of the Miracles were always careful to make sure that they had more than just one or two people who cared for their children. It was very easy to lose everything if one person died or left. It was best that Satsuki have many people to turn to. 

She just couldn't name the feeling that she felt when she realized her daughter didn't quite need her anymore for comfort. 

\-----

In the hazy moments between waking up and fully becoming awake, Satsuki felt happy. There was a warmth pressed up against either side of her, and a delicate, tinny sound of music coming through headphones from a direction in front of her. She'd been tired and the nap helped. Everything was quiet, nice. 

But then _why_ she was asleep in Michiru's office caught up with her, and she felt a weight drag on her limbs. She felt, despite the nap, lethargic suddenly at the thoughts that clogged her mind. She looked over to the girls next to her- Riko and Aya both deeply sleeping. Reo was at the desk, reading something on her phone and gently bobbing her head to the music. 

And then Satsuki spotted the duffel bag by the chair - her mother's. 

She was _back_. 

Careful not to wake the other two, she crept out of the bed. Reo noticed her getting up and whispered, "Your mom said she'd be in Youji's office when you woke up." Momoi thanked her and walked out of the room, heading toward's Youji's office quickly. 

When she opened the door, Michiru didn't look up from the desk. Instead she said in a bored voice, "You could really use a new coat of paint in here, Youji, you haven't changed this place since Ren was born, probably."

"Mom," said Satsuki, and her voice broke as she closed the door behind her. "You're back."

Michiru immediately moved out of the chair to embrace Satsuki, who immediately started crying. "It's okay, I'm back. Tell me everything."

\---

"Want me to kick his ass?" asked Michiru, when the whole story had been laid out. "He sounds like he needs an ass-kicking. Although one of the other Miracles might be able to do it better. Maybe Kise-kun can beat the shit out of him while transformed as Aomine-kun. Because I'm sure the irony would add insult to injury."

"No, no," laughed Momoi, shaking her head. "I just... it's just a lot." 

Michiru cocked her head in the direction of her office. "Who were they? I know their names now but I didn't know you were that close to girl friends." 

"After our talk when I found that picture, I reached out to Riko-chan. And then Kagami-kun suggested I meet with Reo-chan and Aya-chan. It was really nice having their point of view. The Miracle guys were.... not super helpful." 

Michiru snorted. "Yeah, I can guess why. Nice haircut, by the way. It's a time-honored tradition to do something crazy to your hair after a romantic disaster. Welcome to the club."

Momoi laughed. "That's what the girls all said too! And look-" She lifted up her top. "I got this as well." She poked at the charms, which softly chimed against each other. 

Clapping gleefully, Michiru gasped, "Oh you went _all_ in on this! Haircut _and _piercing. A momentous occasion." She watched as Satsuki looked pridefully at her belly button piercing. "Hey. What do you need from me?"

Momoi looked up at her guardian. Her expression was vulnerable, open. "I'm not sure where to go with this next. He still isn't back yet but... if he needs that time away, then I guess I just need to keep going without him."

"I know I've always tried to instill in you the importance of knowing how to exist without him," said Michiru firmly. "I don't want you to think I'm enjoying this or anything. This sucks. He handled it wrong and once he comes back you two will probably have to sit down and have a mature adult discussion. But for right now, you make yourself the priority, okay? You can do whatever you need to do as just Satsuki. But friends can help, and I'm glad you found them." 

Momoi hugged Michiru again, and said, "Yeah. Me too." 

They stayed there for a minute, and then Michiru asked about something that had been fuzzily bothering her at the back of her mind. "You said that Sayuri helped in the beginning but have you seen her since?"

Satsuki shook her head. "Last Reo heard, Sayuri took leave for the next two days and wouldn't tell anyone where she was going." Satsuki looked down. "Do you think she's going to go look for him?"

Michiru frowned. "Where would she even start? You said that people already checked out the most likely areas." She say Satsuki's eyes go into analysis mode and shut it down instantly. "Hey. Not your problem. Alright? I'll deal with that. You go back to my office and do whatever else your friends have planned for tonight. Maybe go to a bar and see how many guys can hit on you in a night, and then turn them all down and feel powerful about it."

"Riko-chan said that'd be a bad idea, Aya-chan already tried," said Momoi sadly. 

"Well you can't please everyone I guess," said Michiru. "I'll have my phone if you need me. And hey, if you see Youji, can you send him into his office?"

Momoi grinned. "I can't believe you just kicked him out." 

Michiru just shrugged, taking out her phone. "He owes me. Just send him in." 

Momoi gave her mother one last hug and then headed out. A few minutes later, Youji came back in. "Hey, I heard I got my office back."

"I suppose." But Michiru didn't get up immediately. She was instead looking at her phone. Youji came around the desk and glanced at what she was looking at. 

"_Oh_. Oh... Michiru-"

"Don't, please." Her voice trembled. "I just... Fuck. I miss them too. I miss having friends like that." 

Youji looked down at the picture of his dead wife, his best friend's dead wife, and his dead fellow soldier on the screen. In between them was a younger Michiru, grinning widely. "I know," he said carefully. After a heavy pause, he added, "It looks like Satsuki-chan found that with those girls. So that's good."

"It is." Michiru stared at the screen for another moment, and then minimized the window. "Also, you'll have to restrain me from punching Aomine-kun when he returns. Although I get why he flipped out. I was wondering when that would happen; I felt like this was inevitable. Even if they get back together, something had to break from all that 'mated pair' shit."

"Good luck being the first Guardian to have to deal with a Miracle breakup," said Youji. "Although I took the initial damage for you." 

"And you'd do it again. You love those kids." 

Youji smiled wryly. "Yeah. I do."

\----

Satsuki would be patient. 

She had her phone back, but she told Reo that she wouldn't hack into Aomine's phone to see who else he might have been texting that night. She didn't scan the entire internet for any talk of odd blue lights in Japan, or any sightings of the fastest man on Earth, the famed Miracle.

Instead, she curled up in her bed, turned off her light, and thought what it meant to be alone. 

She wasn't truly alone, because she had most of her Generation, her mother, her new friends. And it was hard to feel truly alone when at the back of her mind, whenever she touched something connected to the internet, she buzzed with millions of voices. In her bad days she sank herself into the voices like a bath, feeling the clamor and thought, _Maybe this counts as connection. _

But now it was just her, unplugged, in her bed. She didn't know what would happen when (_when_, she thought vehemently) he would return. 

But she could at least be patient in the meantime. 

\--

_"Why don't you just go?" sniffed Pink, curling her fingers up to her face. "You don't want to be here. You got the whole world now. There's no tracker that will find you or an explosive in your neck. It's all fixed. You can just disappear and leave us all."_

_Blue sighed. "It's not that easy, Pink." _

_They were on the roof of the JSDF, one of the few places where they could see the mountains beyond. Blue had developed an affinity for running in the mountains, away from the cities. Sometimes he'd bring Pink along, and she would see deer, tanuki, fish, or boars. Technology was inextricably woven into her DNA, but sometimes, being away from it reminded her that she was flesh and bone, not a creature made of binary code and circuits. _

_But they weren't there now. They were on the rooftop, arguing. _

_"Why isn't it?" she demanded, her voice angry but broken up by her little sobs. "We aren't mates or anything. That's all done. You're not our protector and I'm not your watchtower. We're just people. We're just kids." The word felt odd on her tongue, but she'd heard Kasamatsu-san and Sakurai-san refer to them as kids, and the word made her feel both oddly small but also vulnerable, in a good way. Like there was still growing to do, and she wasn't who was back in Teiko. _

_No one had called them 'kids' there. _

_"Is that what you want?" asked Blue, uncharacteristically soft. "Now that we aren't assigned roles, we don't mean anything to each other? I'm just Blue, and you're just Pink, and that's it?"_

_"You aren't happy here," she said, not answering his question. _

_Blue threw out his hands, exasperated. "Are any of us?"_

_"Yes!" snapped Pink. "Yellow is! I am! Purple- well, probably is!" She had never been sure but Purple seemed less angry than he had at Teiko, and complained less. And Yellow, of all of them, had adapted the best, and taken to Kasamatsu-san and his son with ease. As for her - she was learning so much, and felt connected to other women for the first time since White died. That meant everything to her. _

_"I don't think I'd be happy anywhere, Pink," said Blue, his voice softening again. "But that's okay. I just don't think I'm meant for it. So it doesn't matter where I am. I want to be near to you because protecting you - and the others- gives me something to keep waking up for."_

_Pink knew that she was getting to see a side of Blue that only she got to see, and often, this felt like a privilege. But today, it was a burden - she felt like she was tying him down to a place he didn't want to be. Maybe elsewhere there was a place where he felt this purpose, but right now, she felt less like a purpose and more like a weight on his ankle. _

_"How about this?" offered Blue, looking at the mountains over the rooftop. "If I ever want to really go, just leave, I'll do it, alright? So if I'm here, you don't have to worry that I don't want to be here. I'll be where I want to be. Okay?"_

_Pink still had more questions bubbling in her throat but didn't voice them. Instead, she said, "Promise?"_

_He held his hand out to her and she grabbed it. He pulled her in for a hug, and said, quietly, into her hair, "Promise." _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! As you saw hinted, Sayuri left likely to go find Aomine - which is a story I want to write as a companion to this, where he is on his own and does some thinking. However that one will require a lot more planning than this, so it might be a bit before that's up.  
This honestly might be one of my favorite fanfics I've written, which surprised me while writing it! I just love female friendship bonding and the importance of platonic friendships.  
Here were the images I used to sort of get an idea of what her haircut looked like:  
https://i1.wp.com/therighthairstyles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/15-asymmetrical-hairstyle-for-wavy-hair.jpg?w=500&ssl=1   
https://stylesatlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/39-Stunning-Womens-Long-Layered-Haircuts-Ideas.jpg 


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